After 30 years of service and three long war tours, Captain Perez* has seen the worst of humanity.

“Every day you fight fire. That’s war every day. Explosions every day, every night. When bullets are flying, there is no discretion who they hit. You’re not safe anywhere,” he shares. “I’ve had people die all around me.”

Perez says mental anguish is just as devastating as the physical danger. “It’s very lonely and challenging to be isolated from the world 24/7, 365 days, to be surrounded by evil and horror.”

In the midst of the darkness and chaos, our financial partners gave Perez and other American heroes a lifeline of encouragement and hope — a military Bible.

“To see the Bible is to see a ray of hope,” Perez says. “How do I thank you for my salvation? The Scripture materials sustained me day to day. I always had a Bible in my pocket and read hours on end. Your literature evangelized me. It reached out to me as an unbeliever. It disciples me. It was the Bread of Life that sustained me in the military.”

The 30-year Veteran says, “I knew any day a bullet or rocket could hit me, and I knew that could be my last day. But God’s Word sustained me.”

This is the life-giving impact support of American Bible Society makes possible. Our partners’ generosity places Bibles and Scripture resources in the hands and hearts of Soldiers in the most dangerous regions of the world.

Their kindness also reaches out to Veterans. Perez, said he battled PTSD. “It stopped me in my tracks. I hurt inside out,” he explains. “The Bible minimizes the pain. Everyone needs God’s Word.”

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.